A Book of Fairy Tails
by Serys
Summary: A Prompt base collection of NaLu stories. All ratings will apply. Recent summary: Natsu gets kicked out of Team Natsu by none other than Lucy herself. Now it's up to Natsu to get the last laugh in a battle of the celestial mages! Who will win and who will experience the sweet taste of defeat?
1. Flat

**_ A/N: This will be a prompt base collection of small stories centered around the pairing _****_LucyxNatsu_**. All ratings will apply. If you have an idea for a prompt, send me a message or leave it in a review. 

**_This first contribution to 'A Book of Fairy Tails' is an AU (Alternate Universe) prompt, titled 'Flat'._**

**_And, once again, Fairy Tail doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Hiro Mashima, and he would have my ass if I said otherwise._**

**_Anyway, here is the first of many!_**

**_Summary: Lucy cursed her own luck. For all the knowledge she acquired in her academic years, how could she not know how to change a flat tire? It was one of the basic fundamentals of life, after all!_**

**_Rated K+ _**

* * *

_Flat_

In all her years of driving, Lucy Heartfilia had never encountered a problem with a car. She always made sure that it was in top condition whenever she set out for a long drive. Always made sure that she had a couple gallons of gas, enough air in the tires and a pair of jumping cables in the trunk just in case she made some sort of slip up during a trip.

She was a careful driver, perhaps a little too careful, but it was all to avoid problems like these.

And now, she stood on the side of the dark empty road, mulling over her hopeless fate, in the beginning of the night, no less. She was embarrassed and ashamed that for all of her years of proper upbringing and all the education her parents had bought her, she couldn't, for the life of her, understand how to change a flat tire.

It was one of the basic fundamentals of life. How could she not know?

_What good does it do you to be prepared if you don't even know what to do when something like this happens?_

With her cellphone in hand, she glared down at the black screen with all the fury and hate she could muster, cursing her fate that this just happened to be the one time that she forgot to fill the battery, and the one time that she didn't bring the charger with her. A simple call to her father would have fixed this right up in no time.

If her luck had a face, she would have punched it right in it's teeth. And if she hadn't agreed to a date with a man she didn't have any chemistry with, then perhaps she wouldn't be stuck here right now. A stupid date. A date she didn't even want to go to on the first place, but the man kept asking for a night out with her, and she agreed, begrudgingly, for one night only.

During the dinner, Lucy knew right away that they didn't click. They had nothing in common. It wasn't as if he was ugly either, he was actually quite attractive with dark hair and deep blue eyes. He had a nice physique under the tailored black coat he wore, but it just wasn't what she was looking for. And when he started talking about a stalker he had, it took everything in Lucy's power not to get up and walk right out of the restaurant then and there.

She was too wrapped up in the memory of her horrible night that she didn't notice the headlights of a car as it rolled up next to her.

"You having a problem?"

Lucy turned with wide brown eyes, her heart beating painfully in her chest. She noticed there was a man, perhaps about the same age as her, alone in the car.

She laughed nervously, tucking a few strands of her blond hair from her face. Lucy was unsure if she should let this person help her or not. She watched enough movies to know what would happen if he did, but she had been stuck on this same road for almost an hour and he was the first person to drive by.

Lucy was pulled in opposite directions, but decided to take the risk. She'd rather be dead than stuck out here for the remainder of the night.

"What's your name?" she asked. She had the right to know what her potential killer called himself.

"My name's Natsu," he replied, giving her a small smile. It made his face appear more friendly and open to her and she found herself smiling back.

"Natsu." She tested his name on her tongue, the word bouncing back and forth inside her head. "I'm having a bit of trouble with a flat tire, Natsu," she said with the tilt of her head. "Do you think you could help me?"

"'Course." He pulled up in front of her vehicle and got out of his car. When he fell under the light of the moon, his features stood out to her a lot more clearly. His hair was the color of pink salmon, his eyes dark, almost black. His lips looked soft, his nose straight and there didn't seem to be a blemish on his tanned skin. He stood a few inches taller than her, dressed in a simple blue T-shirt and gray cargo pants, and for some reason, it made her very aware of her own appearance.

"Oh, nice, you have a 206cc," Natsu said. She watched his eyes roam over the car, a look of appreciation on his face.

"Uh...yeah." Lucy blushed. She didn't even know what that meant, but she was thankful that the one person she ran in to had some knowledge about cars.

"Do you have a jack?" he asked.

Lucy blinked. "A what?"

Natsu smiled like he understood her confusion.

He went back to his car and opened the trunk. He pulled out a medium sized red metal contraption that looked like it didn't have the strength to jack up anything. In his other hand, he held a cross tire iron.

"Oh." Lucy was feeling unusually self-conscious. She took pride in her brain, her book smarts, but this man had her feeling stupid in the span of seconds of knowing him.

Lucy sighed.

"It's okay." He seemed to know where her frustration was stemming off from. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm a car mechanic."

And it did. Immensely so. Looks like she wouldn't have to punch her luck in the face after all.

But then the image of him in a sweaty white muscle shirt came to her, her mouth going completely dry. Heat consumed her entire body, the hairs on her arms and neck prickling on end. It was weird to her that she was feeling oddly attracted to this man, and it had her questioning her taste in men. Did she really go for strangers she just met in the middle of the night at the side of the road?

Lucy stood and watched him as he set himself to work, rolling the spare she had next to the flat. She listened to his voice as he instructed what to do the next time it happened. She hung onto his every word, mesmerized by the way the muscles of his arms and neck rippled and moved under his ministrations. Lucy's tongue darted out to wet her dry lips. His actions felt too sexy, too erotic for just a simple changing of a tire.

She wiped her sweaty palms against the back of her dress. She was getting extremely far ahead of herself.

"Just be careful while driving," he warned, bringing himself back to his feet. "Spares are only meant to be spares, it should be changed as soon as possible."

She took the information all in, nodding wholeheartedly. She glanced over at the smaller tire that looked out of place under her car, but it was doable. She could work with this. "Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done if you didn't come along."

"No worries." Natsu took her in, his dark eyes traveling down the length of her body and back up again like he was finally seeing her for the first time. Lucy caught his smoldering gaze, feeling instantly giddy about the way he was watching her. She could recognize that look anywhere, and it was nice to know that he found her just as attractive as she did him.

"You coming back or going to?" he asked, motioning over to the skin tight black dress she wore.

It took a few seconds to decipher what he said, pulling at the hem of her short dress. "Uh...coming back."

"Must have been a shitty date if you're on your way home now," Natsu quipped.

Lucy's laugh was genuine for the first time that night, her head shaking. "You have no idea."

"Poor fellow." His smirk was setting off all kinds of electricity through her nerves. "So, what's your name?"

"Lucy Heartfilia," she swallowed, willing away the blush she knew was coating her cheeks. She mentally chastised herself for being so damn obvious around him.

"Lucy Heartfilia." The repeat of her name with the sound of his smooth voice had her knees going weak. She blushed again.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_

"You have a nice night, Lucy," he said, grinning at her like he held some sort of secret he wanted to tell her. "Hopefully, I'll see you soon."

Lucy stood there, dumbfounded as he placed his tools back in his trunk and slipped into his car. It was only when the two back taillights were merely red dots in the horizon did she blink herself back to reality.

"Natsu," she whispered. She immediately decided that she liked the sound of his name.

_Natsu..._

She searched her brain a few moments, her brows marred into a look of confusion.

Then her heart painfully dropped, her mouth gaping.

_Crap, I didn't get his last name!_

* * *

**_A/N: It's Dragneel, girl! Get ta' searchin'!_**


	2. Animal

**A/N: This is the second installment of 'A Book of Fairy Tails'! I would also like to note that these chapters are not related in any way, unless I state otherwise.**

**And, once again, Fairy Tail doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Mr. Mashima.**

**Summary: Natsu breathes fire, eats fire and fights with fire, so why is he suddenly feeling so hot under the collar?**

**Rated: A light M? **

**Anyway, on with it!**

* * *

_Animal_

Natsu was going crazy.

He knew it had been a mistake to bring Lucy on this three day mission to the Town of Oak, and he also knew it was a very poor judgment on his part to leave Happy back in Magnolia, who, by the way, would act as a very good distraction for him right about now. But no. Mirajane needed him for _something or other_, and so it left him here alone with Lucy. Any other time, he would think nothing of it, but today, something about her was off.

Her scent. It was different today. Well, it changed a couple days back, but today, it was stronger than ever; like she had bathed in something delicious just moments before he woke up this morning. It was sweet and heavy, and it stuck to the back of his tongue like syrup. It made him feel drugged, sloppy and out of control.

The way she moved, stretched, and walked was alluring to him. Her chest bounced with every step, her hips swayed from side to side, as if she was tempting him to grab her and make her his. It was almost like an unspoken challenge between the two of them, and it baited Natsu like the animal he knew himself to be.

It distracted him to the point where they almost couldn't complete the job they had. During the entire duration of the mission, Natsu's mind was elsewhere, too wrapped up in his mental musings to see the Ogre coming at his side. If it wasn't for Lucy's quick thinking, they both would have fallen over the cliff and into a shallow river to their doom.

Natsu sighed. It was no mistake, he really was losing his mind.

It was getting out of control, and it worried him. Natsu wasn't like this. He knew something was wrong. His already superior senses were heightened ten fold. He should have known the ogre was coming, but all he could smell was Lucy. She consumed all of his senses, whether she was a couple feet away from him or a mile up ahead, it didn't matter.

And the images were even more distracting. He struggled to fight against it, but they would always win out. Constantly, he imagined Lucy squirming beneath him, moaning, panting, and begging for him to take her. He would picture them both in a heated embrace, him buried deep inside her, pumping in and out until she convulsed and squeezed around him as she came.

Some twisted part of him knew that if he thought hard enough, he might have been able to bring himself to his own release without even having to touch himself.

Natsu glared at the object of his thoughts, who walked several paces ahead of him and seemingly unaware of his misery. How dare she carry on with her life as if her very existence didn't complicate his.

Without his consent, his dark eyes traveled down the length of her body, taking note of the short cut off jean shorts and the pink barely there tank top she wore. The inside of his mouth literally watered at the roundness of her backside. It looked good enough to bite.

He didn't notice that his friend had stopped. She stood looking him now, her face flushing under his intense stare. Natsu swallowed, running a hand down his face. Fuck, did she catch him ogling at her?

_Oh, shit._

"Hurry up, Natsu!" Lucy said. He saw a smile on her lips, and it had him feeling confused. "It's getting dark."

Natsu took a deep breath, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but at that moment, all he could smell was her. Blood rushed to his most intimate of places and Natsu stood stricken in his spot. He was shocked speechless at his own reactions. Surely his body was playing some kind of trick on him, right? He wasn't attracted to Lucy. Sure, she was good looking-okay, she was down right gorgeous with her golden hair and the prettiest brown eyes he had ever seen, but that was besides the point. They were friends! He shouldn't be feeling this way about his friends!

"Are you okay, Natsu?" Lucy reached over to him to place a palm over his forehead. Natsu jumped at the contact of skin, batting her hand away from him.

"Leave me alone, Luce," he said, blushing. "I'm fine!"

Lucy looked offended. "Well, _excuse me_ for caring about your wellbeing!" She huffed and turned away. "And anyway, we have to set up camp for the night."

More of her scent bombarded his nose, stronger now. He shuddered at the animalistic impulse to taste exactly what was making her smell so good. What the hell was his problem? "No, no way! We don't have to sleep tonight. We are only eight hours away from Magnolia, and if we keep walking, we can get there before the morning."

"But _Natsu." _He shivered at the drawl of his name, his mind twisting into believing she had moaned for him instead. "We've been walking all day. I'm tired, and my feet hurt," she said. "And besides, it's getting close to dark. Walking during the night will only leave us wide open for anyone that wanted to attack us."

Natsu felt his will give in, and he sighed. She had a point, but enemies wasn't what he was worried about right now. He had endured almost three days of this torture, and he wasn't sure how long he had before he jumped her. What would Lucy think if she saw him on top of her while waking up? She had the right to know, and he had to tell her.

"Lucy, something isn't right," he began. Sweat trickled down the middle of his back, knowing it wasn't the warm night air that had him feeling so hot.

Lucy shot a glance over toward him, her face unreadable. "What do you mean?"

Natsu gritted his teeth, exasperated at his need to explain himself to her, but it wasn't like Lucy _knew_ what was happening to him, right? "Your smell..." He paused. "It's...different."

"Different?" Her eyes shifted from his face to the ground. She looked nervous now. "How so?"

Natsu cleared his throat, debating whether or not this conversation bordered on '_too much info'_ and should be kept to himself. He stared at her face, reading for any sign that would tell him she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"I don't know!" Natsu finally yelled. "It just smells weird! What the hell did you put on anyway?!"

"Hey, don't go yelling at me because _you're_ the one with the uncontrollable urges to pounce!" Lucy countered, her eyes flashing. "Go take your boner somewhere else!"

Natsu gasped, eyes wide. She _knew_! She knew _exactly_ what was going on, and she had the fucking nerve to play around with him? "You!" he pointed at her accusingly, his face paved in anger. "You knew!"

"Of course I knew," she said. "How the hell could anyone _not_ know? You've been walking around in a daze for almost three whole days! With a biggest boner, no less!"

He crossed his arms. "You did something to me." It was the only explanation he could think of.

Lucy smirked, but then she shrugged. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

Natsu felt ready to explode, his hands balling into fists. The aches were fading into pure longings now, and he debated whether or not he should strangle Lucy, or fuck her to death.

"Look, Natsu," she said. "The potion wouldn't have worked if you didn't have any romantic feelings for me, and the fact that you're so over-the-edge right now tells me exactly what I needed to know."

"Potion?" he questioned, his voice rising. "What potion?" He didn't remember drinking anything.

Lucy looked guilty. "Someone may or may not have slipped something into your food before we left."

Natsu was pretty sure he was grinding his teeth away to dust. "So this was all just some scheme for you to know that I have feelings for you?"

"Well..." She was starting to look ashamed. Good. At least she still had a bit of conscience left to feel awful for putting him in this situation.

"Lucy." His tone was that of a warning. The impulse to throw her against a tree and take her right there was pulling at his will. He was starting to shake. "When should I expect this to go away?"

Lucy blushed, twirling her fingers. "I wasn't expecting it to work, honestly," she said. "I would have never imagined that you...saw me that way." She took a deep breath and swallowed. Natsu was mesmerized by the action, like everything she did set his blood flowing to his nether regions. "And it will only go away once you act on your urges."

Natsu felt all the air leave his body, his mind going blank. It was a momentary reprieve from the constant struggle he had with himself for the past three days, but then the moment was gone, replaced with an even hungrier urge to fuck her brains out. Did she even realize what kind of danger she had put herself in? Did she think of this as some kind of game?

"Lucy, you have no idea what you are doing to me."

Something in her face changed, and Natsu was sure he didn't like it. "I...I think I do," Lucy said, growing bolder. "I'm not a little girl, Natsu. I know exactly what I want." Then she smirked, casting her eyes over his tense body, then lower. "And what you want for that matter."

He felt his blood dance and sing at her words, but it was his total concentration that had his feet rooted to their spot on the ground. "Lucy, I don't want to hurt you."

She didn't look too worried. "I never figured you to be the gentle type."

"Lucy," he growled.

"Fuck me, Natsu."

The words echoed inside of his brain, setting every nerve in his body on fire. His eyes bore into hers, silently asking her if what he heard was right.

"Or are you scared?"

Her challenge twisted in his head, making his blood burn under his heated skin. His dark eyes narrowed at her, his lips curling into a smirk. Right now, Lucy was his, and he was going to make damn sure she knew that by the end of this night.

/

\

/

"Oh, Natsu! Lucy! You're back from your mission!"

Mirajane's voice rang out through the guild hall as Lucy and Natsu entered Fairy Tail the morning after. There wasn't a spot out of place on Natsu or his clothing. Lucy, on the other hand, had her hair up and tucked into a messy bun, both straps of her pink tank top were tide into knots to keep her shirt from falling off her chest. There was also a noticeable rip at the side of her shorts, but she didn't think it merited enough to be fixed.

"About time you got back, I was just about to send Gray after you two," Mira teased, giving the two teens a sly wink.

Lucy blushed, knowing Mirajane would have never send Gray after them if she had any idea what had went on the night before. Natsu, of course, looked offended.

"I was more than enough for that easy job! The fact that you would think to send Gray of all people pisses me off!"

"What the hell is that suppose to mean, you dumb flamethrower?!" Gray came out of no where, flying through the air toward Natsu with his leg extended for a face kick.

The ice mage hit his target dead on, and Natsu went flying through a table, instantly splitting the wood into three different pieces. He was quickly on the counterattack, his fist poised for a punch to Gray's face. "What the hell was that for, you fuckin' perverted ice witch?!"

Then the famed battle between the two had begun.

Lucy sighed and sauntered over toward Mirajane and Cana, trying to ignore the recognizable sound of her two friends fighting each other. The blond gave them both a knowing look and without saying a word, Lucy slapped one thousand Jewel on the table in front of Mira.

Cana eyed the younger girl, her brows raised in question. "No way."

Lucy nodded, her eyes not quite meeting the two women.

Mira, unsurprisingly, had the biggest smirk on her face. "So, how was he?" she teased.

"Like..." Lucy began, her eyes taking on a look that had the two women know she was mentally reliving the night before. "Like an animal." She turned and walked away, out of the guild hall she went. Both women gaped at her as she left.

Then Mirajane grinned, her hand outstretched for Cana's share.

Cana sighed. "This is the last time I bet against you," she said, also placing one thousand Jewel in her hand. Her dark gaze caught Natsu throwing Gray through the air. "Who the hell knew the bastard had it in him?"

Mirajane laughed.

"I told you that stuff works!"

* * *

_End._


	3. First Date

**A/N: Yay! This is the third chapter! Each little fic I write for NaLu, I fall a little more in love with the couple. They are just too cute. **

**I would also like to note that these chapters are not related in any way, unless I state otherwise.**

**Fairy Tail doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Mr. Hiro Mashima.**

**Summary: Lucy's first real date doesn't turn out the way she expected.**

**Rated: K**

* * *

_First Date_

Lucy Heartfilia stared into the glass of water she order thirty minutes ago.

It was twelve past eight, and she had been waiting for almost an hour and a half for her blind date to arrive. Normally, Lucy would steer clear of these get-togethers; she read the horror stories of blind dates, and she didn't want to spend her night making small talk and playing the occasional awkward eye staring contest. But, this wasn't just any random stranger; he worked for Sorcerer Weekly! And the best of all, he was interested in doing a personal interview with her!

When Lucy arrived at the restaurant, she was full of butterflies and excitement, going over the questions that she would most likely be asked, and perfecting her answers. She imagined the fame that would most certainly follow after such an interesting and in depth interview. The news of her awesomeness would spread; guys would flock at her feet, girls would be green with envy. She would have a ton of fans, she hoped, probably more than Mirajane herself!

But the longer she waited, the more her bubbling excitement faded, and the more she realized that she might be at the unfortunate end of a childish prank. If she really thought about the the way things came about; the hand written note in her mail box, she was starting to believe just that.

_I can't believe I fell for such a dirty trick._

How humiliated she was when she realized it. How could she believe that someone from Sorcerer Weekly would request an interview with her via a written note? That was totally unprofessional, but it was her excitement of finally getting on the cover of such a prestigious magazine that had that one small suspicious little tidbit going completely over her head.

Lucy spent the better portion of her day shopping around for the perfect dress, she even had her celestial spirit, Cancer, work on her hair for at least two hours! It was disappointing that all today's hard work would be for nothing.

She was about to get up and leave, but a voice behind her stopped her from doing so.

"Hey, Lucy!"

Lucy turned her head to see the last person she expected in a ritzy restaurant such as this one. Natsu, standing in what appeared to be a dark vest over a clean white shirt, was grinning at her from ear to ear. Lucy looked him over, not quite believing this was Natsu she was seeing, the sleep anywhere, eat anything Natsu.

_He cleans up pretty nice._

Lucy managed a weak smile in return. "Natsu. What are you doing here?"

"Someone asked me to meet her here, but I think I'm a bit late." He looked genuinely ashamed for his tardiness, and it had Lucy frowning.

"You had a date?" She blinked, confused. "With a girl?"

"Yeah!" He exclaimed. He seemed to be very excited about the idea, and it made her squirm in her seat. "I didn't see her here anywhere, but I saw you, and decided to say hey!"

Something didn't sit right with her at that thought. Natsu was a guy, a handsome one at that, but why it never occurred to her that he might be dating girls, she didn't know. She didn't believe there was a sexual bone in his body, but stranger things have happened, she mused.

"That's...nice, I guess."

"So, what's up, Lucy?" He asked, looking over the deep scarlet dress she wore. "Are you on a date, too?"

"I don't think so." Lucy sighed, knowing full well that she was set up on a fake blind date. She didn't deserve this kind of treatment. She was a nice girl, didn't get into trouble, and was pleasant to everyone she knew. So that left the question: Who hated her enough to stoop so low?

"Aw, Lucy, don't cry."

"I'm not crying." She sniffled, bowing her head to hide her face. She quickly wiped her tears away.

Natsu sat himself in the chair next to her. "What happened?"

"I was stood up," Lucy said, fingering the napkin in front of her. "I think it was a prank. Ugh! I can't believe I fell for it."

Natsu growled. "Those bastards."

Lucy smiled. Even though he was sometimes oblivious to his surroundings, and reckless with his words and actions, he had a strong protective streak when it came to his friends. It warmed her heart. "It's okay, I hope they had a good laugh at the expense of my embarrassment though."

"Have you decided on your order yet?" The waiter calmly asked.

"Give us a few more minutes!" Natsu quickly said as he ushered him away.

The waiter rolled his eyes, turning the other way.

Lucy sighed. She had been sitting in this same spot for almost two hours, no doubt that the waiter was getting a bit antsy for her to hurry up and move along.

She watched as Natsu grabbed one of the menus.

"Natsu..." Lucy trailed. "What are you doing? Don't you have a date to be on?"

Natsu shrugged. "I think saving your pride is a bit more important than that."

"I don't want your pity," she whined. "Just let me go home and die in peace with my humiliation."

"Nope," he simply said.

Lucy groaned and decided to drop the whole thing. Once Natsu made up his mind, there was no going back on the matter. It was one of those stubborn qualities he possessed that gave her a huge headache. Lucy really wanted to go home and try to forget this whole embarrassing experience. After all, this was actually to be her first real date.

_And now this huge milestone will forever be remembered as one big joke._

"Come on, Lucy," Natsu said. "This isn't going to be any fun if you're sitting there like you don't even want to be here."

"I don't."

"Please, Lucy?"

As soon as she looked at his face, she knew she was doomed. Lucy wanted to get far away from this place as quickly as possible, but Natsu's face took on a puppy-dog expression that melted her resolve. The blond sighed, feeling herself give in. "Fiiiiiiine."

"Good, because I am starving!"

"I knew there was an ulterior motive."

So she stayed. Lucy had imagined the rest of the night would turn to be a faux pas with Natsu. After all, everything he touched, broke. But as it turned out, Lucy had come to find that Natsu was...actually quite normal. Not just normal, he was funny, and not in the 'laugh-at-me-I'm-acting-stupid' kind of way that she was used to, but he had a witty kind of humor she never thought he possessed.

Lucy believed she saw every side of Natsu. She spent enough time with him to get to know just what made him tick. But this time it was different. Natsu wasn't breathing fire, or fighting an enemy. He wasn't sleeping in her bed, raiding her fridge or going through the rough drafts of her novel, and being a total jerk in the process.

He was normal. _They_ were normal.

Throughout the entire dinner, Lucy stared at Natsu like he was a completely different person. She watched him as he moved, listened to his stories, amazed that during the climax of one of his tales, fire didn't sprout from his hands and blast the first person he saw like she expected.

It wasn't until they were walking back to her apartment under the light of a full moon did a crazy idea strike her. It made her hesitate, a light pink hue appearing across her cheeks. Lucy stopped in her tracks, her gaze on Natsu as he stood beside her with a questioning glance in his onyx eyes.

"Natsu..." Lucy said, her browns eyes shifting from his head to her feet. "Was this...a date?"

"A date? I don't know, I guess? Maybe it was." He shrugged.

It wasn't the clear answer she was looking for, but this was Natsu she was asking. Lucy smiled and leaned over, pressing her lips against his cheek. His skin was smooth and warm, and it left her feeling very nervous about the whole situation, like she actually had small butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

"Thank you for not making this night completely suck."

Natsu grinned. "Hey, that's what friends are for, right?!"

"Right, friends." Lucy swallowed, falling a step behind Natsu as he lead the way to her apartment. She raised a hand to her mouth, running a finger across the skin of her lips. It tingled and she let out a shaky breath. Warmth spread through her entire body, giving the butterflies that nestled in her stomach more energy to fly and wreck havoc.

_What the hell just happened?_

Lucy sighed. Just as it would seem, Fate decided to play another dirty joke on her.

_Crap._

* * *

**A/N: Awww, is Lucy in lurve? I want to t****hank you guys so much for reading/following/favoriting and reviewing my fics! You really do make the internet a better place. Thank you. :)**


	4. Prey

**A/N: This is an AU (Alternate Universe- which means NOT CANON) prompt. A couple of you wanted to see more of...this animal side of Natsu, so this is what I came up with, so forgive me if Natsu&Lucy seem a bit..OOC for you.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

**Summary: The Fire Dragon Hunt Festival happened once every ten years, and every ten years, a chosen one was to be sacrificed to placate the ire of the great dragon. This time, it was Lucy's turn to be the lamb in this little game.**

**Rated T**

* * *

_Prey_

Atop of the highest mountain in Konzern, beyond the great wall of fire and flame, lies the most fearsome of dragons. From the base of which it dwelt, jagged rocks and slippery slopes littered the long pathway up to it's peak. To venture to the top of this mountain was suicide; for many have tried, and died.

It happened once every ten years. The Fire Dragon Hunt Festival. Like the name implies, the Dragon of Fire rises from it's ten year slumber, along with a hunger for human flesh and blood. To placate the dragon's ire, a chosen one was to be the sacrifice for this great occasion. It was a high honor that many volunteered for.

Lucy Heartfilia wasn't one of those who would willingly put herself up for what she believed to be a heinous act, but the Village of Konzern had slim pickings of teenage girls. Some were too young. Most had already mothered a child, and the rest had passed the acceptable age of the rite.

And like the perfect daughter she wanted to be for her father, she agreed to become the sacrifice without complaint. There was a month to go before the festival, and Lucy wished that this opportunity would bring them closer together. They had little time left, and all she wanted was to spend her last moments with him before the hunt began.

But it wasn't like that.

Her father became even more distant from her. He spent his time with his work, looking for any kind of distraction that would keep him from being with her. Lucy was frustrated, heartbroken and confused. Why was it that no matter what she did to please him, he showed her no love? Didn't he understand what was going to happened to her? Did her father not care about her at all?

The month went by quickly, too quickly, leaving Lucy with the biggest mistake that she had ever made. She didn't want to be the sacrifice anymore, she didn't care about the honor it would bring to her father or her family name. She didn't care about any of that. Why should she when her only living relative couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge her presence?

And when Lucy resisted, they labeled her a heretic. She fought, screamed and cried, but it made no difference to them. She was the one chosen to become the Dragon's Prey whether she wanted to or not. For the sake of the rite, and for the punishment of her rebellion, she was sentenced to death, and they threw her in the forest of Igneel; the dragon's hunting grounds.

Lucy felt betrayed as her own blood stood by and did nothing.

Night fell, and the Fire Dragon Festival began with a tearing roar from the skies. Only the light of the full moon kept Lucy from running into the tall forest trees. Despite the danger of the darkness that surrounded her, Lucy ran for her dear life, dodging the branches and leaves that would whip and strike at her face.

Overhead, another violent roar sounded, and Lucy quickly backed up against a huge tree trunk, out and away from the moon's light where she could be easily seen by the dragon's supernatural senses. This was now a fight for her survival, Lucy realized, and she had no means to battle against something so big. Didn't even know where to begin.

She wondered if this is what all the chosen girls went through at the beginning of the hunt. To first accept their fate only to be brought back to reality when the high of being the sacrifice came down, when night came and the dragon roared to life. Did they all run like she did? Did they think to fight against their fate, or did they all just lay down at it's feet to die?

A sharp crack came from behind her, and Lucy held back a gasp.

"So you're the one they picked out for me, huh?"

It took a moment for her to decipher the words that were spoken. Lucy grew perplexed. This was a human man's voice, speaking human words. Wasn't this suppose to be a dragon? she thought. Had it actually shift to a human form? It had Lucy almost risking a glance from her hiding spot to see if what she believed was true.

"Can't say that I am not pleased," he said. She heard whatever it was take in a breath, and then sigh. "You smell pretty damn good."

Lucy flattened herself against the huge trunk, her breath hitching in her throat. Pulse throbbed against her nerves, her eyes shut tightly.

"You're nervous, though." There was an amused tone in his voice, and Lucy wasn't sure what that meant. Had he experienced this with all the others as well? "Let me help you relax."

His words sent cold shivers through her body, terror gripping her heart like a thousand frozen needles. She definitely didn't want to find out what his idea of getting her to relax would be.

A heavy gust of wind almost knocked herself from her place against the tree, but her hands held steadfast on one of the branches that protruded from the black bark and curled up and around the base. Her blond hair fell against her face, tickling her lips and nose with annoying feather like touches. Lucy resisted the urge to brush them away; the less movement she made, the more likely she was to go unnoticed.

But with a dragon at her heels, did it really make a difference? It was already made clear that he could smell her.

She stood for several minutes, waiting for anything else to be said, or heard. The forest surrounding her became still once more, an unsettling silence consuming the air around her. It took all of her courage, but Lucy ventured a peek beside the tree, her eyes wide and unblinking.

She searched left, then right.

There was nothing. No one.

Lucy took a deep breath, relief swelling inside her chest. Whatever it was, it was gone for now.

But she knew staying in one spot was just as bad as being wide open with a bullseye hanging over her head.

Lucy had witnessed this hunt once before when she was seven. She could remember the cry of the dragon as it flew over her home, toward the forest that was forbidden by everyone, even the elders, to enter. She may have been young, but it wasn't hard to understand what this festival was about.

And now she was the main attraction in this sick game.

The fight within her was rising again and Lucy shook herself out of her shirt, rubbing the cloth over her body before shoving it inside a bush. She quickly took off her shoes, throwing them in opposite directions from each other. If she wanted to have any luck in avoiding the dragon, she had to place her scent all over the forest. It would leave him confused, she thought, and perhaps it would buy her enough time to find a small lake or a stream to hide herself in, along with her scent.

She dashed through the forest, stopping to place her socks, skirt and hair-tie in various locations along her path. The burn in her lungs had Lucy slowing her pace, risking a glance behind her every now and again. She felt odd walking around in the middle of the night in her underwear, and despite it being mid-summer, the warmth of the air did nothing to keep herself from getting cold.

A third roar was heard, and this one felt different than the first two. She could hear the anger in his cry, and it almost made her stop in her tracks. The smell of burning wood wafted through the air, and in the distance, she could make out the faint glow of fire among the trees.

Perhaps her plan was working a little too well, Lucy thought with a grimace. A dragon was enough to worry about, but an angry dragon? She didn't want to think what was going to happen when he caught up with her.

"I'm impressed!" His echo reached her, making her pause. In her panic, she swung herself in all directions.

His voice seemed to be coming from everywhere.

"To think I would be outwitted by a human girl." And then she heard his laugh, but it was void of it's mirth. He didn't sound happy at all. "Run while you still can, because I will find you."

His warning had her taking off again. She pushed down the burn in her lungs, the pain in her legs, arms and chest.

The air around her changed, but Lucy was too distracted to notice. It was subtle, at first, but as time pressed on, a certain aroma was getting more and more intense. Lucy breathed it in deeply, feeling her body immediately relax. It smelled wonderful, she thought. Slowly, she felt her fear dissipate, like it was being sucked from her body, along with the anxiety of her impending death.

_How weird._

Her steps slowed to a stop and she stood there, letting the feeling blanket over her heart. A comfortable warmth washed over her cold sweaty skin, a pool of liquid heat settling in the bottom of her stomach. It twisted and turned, her body reacting against her will.

Lucy blushed deeply and squirmed in her stance. Her knees came together to quell the sudden ache that pulsed between her legs. Her clothes felt too tight, too restricting and she was itching to take the remainder of what she had on off. Why was she feeling this way all of a sudden? What was happening to her?

"That was almost too easy."

An arm slipped around her chest, steeling her arms at her side. She was pulled back against something warm and human like. She glanced down at the muscled arm that held her firmly in place, dazed and confused.

"I thought you would hold out longer than that."

His words teased her, and she felt his free hand linger at her abdomen. He splayed his fingers firmly against her bare skin, feeling electricity and fire rush to all corners of her body. Lucy recoiled at the intensity of his touch, her fear momentarily jumping above everything else.

She pushed herself far away from him, or maybe he was the one that had let her go. Either way, it didn't matter. She was off running again without so much a glance behind her.

The wind started to pick up, pushing against her back. It had her hair flying about, whipping in the air. Lucy knew she couldn't outrun him. Even against her best efforts, he could easily catch up to her. But no, she gathered he liked the chase, this little game of cat and mouse between them.

Her footfalls against the forest ground fell into a steady rhythm. The heavy burn in her lungs had long faded into a desperation that clouded all of her senses and pushed her to continue. Lucy knew she was gravely at a disadvantage here. If she could just find a small riverbed, then maybe she could hold out from being caught by him until the morning came.

But just as she was convinced of her safety from him, he was suddenly before her, staring at her with a look so dark that it had her stopping in her tracks.

Before, Lucy heard his voice and felt his touch, but this was the first time ever seeing him.

He was dressed oddly for someone who was suppose to be a dragon. His hair was an unusual color of pink salmon, and it seemed to defy all laws of gravity as it spiked toward the sky without the help of earthly made products. Around his neck was a white scaly scarf. He wore no shirt, and her eyes were free to roam over the muscled physique his body had.

He had sharp clean features; high cheekbones, and a strong jaw. His eyes were black, and it somehow fit in perfectly with his appearance. Lucy swallowed thickly. He was attractive. Deathly attractive. He looked to be the same age as her, maybe a bit older, but Lucy knew better. This dragon was beyond the age of humans. He was timeless.

"Hmm, you're pretty cute," he said. Then she watched his lips twist into a smirk. "For a human, anyway."

Lucy frowned, her feet taking her a few steps away from him. Another bolt of intense heat exploded from inside herself, giving the aches she tried to push down even more vigor. She didn't have a moment to spare to fight and keep herself composed, not when she trembled before him, not when her knees became weak at the sight of his face.

Why was she feeling so...turned on? Did the thrill of the chase really make her horny? The ache between her legs began to throb once more with a vengeance.

"What did you do?" she managed to gasp out.

"As I said before," he simply told her. "It's to help you relax."

Was this it? Was this where she was going to meet her end? And at the hands of this oddly beautiful creature?

_No._

Lucy wanted him. She wanted him with every fiber of her being, and she knew that was what he wanted as well, but there was no way she was going to go down without fighting, no way she wasn't going to be the stubborn girl everyone told her she was.

She watched him narrow his gaze at her, as if he could actually hear her thought of rebellion against him.

Perhaps he did.

"Who are you?" He suddenly asked.

Lucy grew confused. That was an odd question to ask in this particular setting. Why did he care to know who she was?

_As if it mattered to anyone anymore._

"Lucy." He answered his own question, but that raised a more eerie one: how did he know her name without her ever telling him?

His face softened by a mere fraction, as if her very name had put his unresting soul to peace. Maybe it did.

"Well, this is certainly unexpected," he said with a grin. And just like that, his threat factor went down several notches with that simple twist of his mouth, but even so, she chilled at the sight of his large canines. "No wonder you smelled so good."

"What...do yo mean?" Lucy found herself asking. He seemed to be talking to himself rather than her.

"Well, Lucy, my name is Natsu." He took a step closer to her, his hand extended forward in greeting. "And my dragon has just chosen you to be my mate."

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**A/N: ...and then they did it like no tomorrow. haha..I didn't really know how to end this exactly, so I hope you guys aren't too disappointed. I had originally planned this chapter to be a lemon, but I feared the setting just wasn't right for me to..write. I dunno, I'm weird! I promise for some good stuff in the near future. Thank you for reading and write me a review, please! Until next time! :D **


	5. Opposite

**N/A: Every time I read one of those 'Lucy gets kicked out of Team Natsu' stories, I just have to sigh and shoot my brains out. There are many of these fics, and I wonder why they are so popular with the readers (because there are so many of them) And so, I decided to make my own, but with a twist. Warning: a lot of OOCness, but then again, it probably wouldn't be as funny.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.**

**Summary: Natsu gets kicked out of Team Natsu by none other than Lucy herself. Now it's up to Natsu to get the last laugh in a battle of the celestial mages! Who will win and who will experience the sweet taste of defeat?!**

**Rated K+**

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_Opposite_

Natsu Dragneel walked into the Fairy Tail guild early morning. It was a cold and windy day out, which wasn't unusual for Magnolia. It was always cold and windy, but today, it was especially cold and windy. Perhaps something fateful was going to happen on this cold and windy day! He just didn't know it.

"Man, it's cold and windy out!" Natsu muttered.

It took him a while, but fire dragon slayer spotted his four teammates huddled around a table, their backs were facing him.

Natsu approached them the way he always did.

"Hey, guys!" He greeted with a grin. "What's up? We gonna go on a job?"

Four pairs of eyes turned to look at him, and Natsu gasped at his friends. Why did they all look so nervous, he wondered? Was there something wrong? Were they all sick!?

"So, what's up?" He simply asked. "What's with the stares, guys? Is there something on my face?"

Erza and Gray grabbed Lucy and tossed her in front of the dragon slayer. The celestial mage groaned, and she casually stood up before him, dusting herself off.

"Yes, well..." The blondie began. Natsu cocked one of his black eyes to her and Lucy began to sweat. "Well, last night, over coke and cheese doodles, Erza, Gray and I got to talking a-and, uhmmmm..."

"Spit it out, Lucy. Don't sugar coat anything. Natsu is tough, he can take it." Gray was always the blunt one.

"We all decided that we are kicking you out of Team Natsu."

"What?!"

"Natsu!" Lucy whined. "You are just too strong! This team needs someone who is weak and useless, and...you are just..."

Natsu felt like he was going to cry. "Am I being replaced!?"

"I'm sorry, Natsu." Lucy was defeated.

"I _am_ being replaced!" Natsu exclaimed.

"We are keeping Happy with us, though," Erza said. Happy appeared solemn as he now sat on top of Lucy's head. He avoided eye-contact with everyone. "He isn't strong like you, and he is dead weight to all of us in tight situations, but that's just how we like him."

Natsu's brain was reeling from the unexpected turn of events.

"Oh, Lisanna, there you are!" Lucy's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Lisanna...?" Natsu was incredulous. His gut twisted in jealousy at the celestial mage. Why can't Lucy look at me like that? He asked himself. "You are replacing me with Lisanna?"

"Hell yeah!" Lucy whooped.

Lisanna giggled, skipping along toward Lucy. The two girls high-fived in mid air, showing the rest of their crew how close they have gotten now that Lisanna was back from the parallel world; Edolas. Best friends forever, they both thought with a grin. Life was awesome!

"What about me?" Natsu tried his best to not cry in front of them. How could this be? Yes, Natsu was strong, but that was just how he was! He couldn't change it...could he?

"We don't care," Erza said, glaring down at Natsu with all the hate she could muster. "Now buzz off, we don't want to be seen with a tough and strong guy like you."

Gray sighed. "I'm sorry, Natsu. I was the one that talked them all into it," he said as he was walking away from him.

How could this be? This couldn't be happening! And with one last look of Gray's perfect round naked backside, Natsu turned, covering his tear stained face as he ran back out of the guild. He ran, and ran. He ran as far as his strong legs could take him. How could Fairy Tail do this to him? How could Lucy? Natsu...loved her. Well, he snorted, not anymore! Her feelings for him were as clear as a bright and burning hawk in the darkest of clouds!

"I'll leave Fairy Tail!" He didn't really want to leave Fairy Tail, but this was something that had to be done. He had to go on a journey and prove himself to the world and to Lucy! "I will show Lucy that I can also be weak and useless!"

But how? Lucy was incredibly weaker than he was. How would he lower himself to her degree of battle? How...

"I will challenge her!" And just like that, it was like the most brilliant of ideas came to him. "I will challenge her to a Celestial battle! THEN WE WILL SEE WHO IS THE WEAKER CELESTIAL MAGE!" Natsu cried with a dramatic determination that parted the skies above him.

A single bolt of white lightning dropped to the ground in front of Natsu. Out came a short and stout man dressed in impressive white robes. He had an old and sagely looking face as he threaded through his long white beard. The man eyed Natsu for a moment.

"Yo, t'was it you that called my name?"

Natsu stood, dumbfounded, at the man that appeared before him. "Who are you?"

"I am The Great Heeber Jeeber," he said, motioning up toward the sky. "And I heard your call from the heavens. It touched my soul and I decided to help you."

"It did?"

"Yes."

"Awesome!"

"Right. Now let's get to training and lose to that bitch!"

"Right on!"

And for days, Natsu trained with Heebs, as he liked to be called. He only trained during the night time because Natsu was a busy guy. He can't be all celestial mage this, celestial mage that, and 'Hey, go get me a hotdog!' and everything, can he? Even Heebs knew that Natsu wasn't a multi-track kind of guy. At least he understood.

It was a rainy day when Natsu decided he had enough of the training. He felt that he was ready to take on Lucy now. He knew he was weak enough for her. He felt it in his bones.

Natsu approached Heebs, who was leaning against a tree, reading through the latest X-rated Sorcerer Monthly.

"Aw, man. Lucy's landlady is hot."

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Hey, Heebs!"

Heebs stared straight into his pupil's pupils and Natsu stared back with just enough reckless determination that told the spiritual being that it was time. Heebs tossed the magazine over his head. "I sense that you are ready."

Natsu nodded.

"In that case, it is about time I gave you these..." From Heeb's robes, the man pulled out several multi-colored keys hanging on a plastic key loop.

"What are those?!" Natsu was impressed at the vast amounts of neon colors it was donned with. It shined so brightly in his face. He never seen anything so cheap looking before.

"These are the Fisher-Price keys of the ancient Toys-R-Us legends."

Natsu gasped. "Fisher-Price?!"

Heebs nodded in the most sagely way he knew how. "These keys of legend have been passed down from generation to generation in my family...and now I shall give them to you."

"I...I can't."

"Natsu!" Heebs exclaimed. "You have proven yourself worthy of this power. I shall bestow upon you the weapon that will show the world how weak and useless you really are."

Heebs gave Natsu the keys. They were lightweight and made of plastic. The newly formed celestial mage had a tear in his eye. "I will miss you forever, Heebs."

"Bitch, I ain't going anywhere!" The man cried. "You come back and tell me how the battle went, bro!"

Natsu grinned. "Sure thing!"

And out of the forest Natsu went. He skipped happily along the stone pathway up toward the infamous Fairy Tail guild. He had been gone for a week, and it was a very long week.

"I wonder if they will recognize me..." Natsu thought out loud. "It's been such a short time. I can't wait to see the look on Lucy's face when she realizes that I have come back!"

It wasn't before long that he was now standing outside of the guild. His black eyes gazed over at the Fairy Tail insignia high above the entrance of the hall. It was a symbol that meant the world to him. Natsu sighed. It was now or never.

"Lucy Heartfilia!" Natsu bellowed. "I challenge you to a duel between celestial mages!"

He stood silently for several minutes before the door creaked open and the white head of Mirajane popped out. She squinted her eyes at Natsu.

"Natsu, what the hell are you doing screaming at three in the morning?!"

Natsu blushed. "Oh, sorry, Mira. I didn't realize how early it was..." How could he have missed that little piece of info? No wonder he didn't see anyone out in the town. "I will wait for Lucy here."

Mira rolled her eyes. "Okay, well, try to keep it down!" She closed the door back up.

10 am eventually rolled around, and like a hawk, Natsu spotted Lucy walking to the guild hall with Erza and Gray at her side.

Natsu approached Lucy with murder in his eyes. "I challenge you, Lucy, to a duel!"

"You can't be serious," Lucy deadpanned. It was clear she wasn't interested. "You are too strong, Natsu. You will win against me."

"No." Anger was boiling inside of Natsu, but he had to keep his cool about him. "I will lose. You will see."

Natsu whipped out his multi-colored keys.

"Those keys!" Lucy was shocked, her eyes widening. This certainly was unexpected. "Where did you get those keys?!"

Natsu smirked.

"Surprised?" He tossed one into the air, he misjudged the direction and ended up hitting himself in the face. "These are the knockoffs to your golden keys. But not only that..." This was it. This is where Natsu had the lower hand in this fight. He was going to lose! His dream was being realized. Lucy was finally going to feel the cold hard victory he had always felt when he was in Team Natsu.

"They are a lot more useless than you can _ever_ imagine..."

Lucy gasped. "If that is true, then let's do iiiiiiiit!" She righted her Scorpion key, and called upon the celestial spirit out in a way that only a veteran knew how. "Open! Gate of the Scorpion!" She swung her key forward. "Scorpio!"

Natsu did the same, only he was a lot more awful at it. "Get out here, ya damn spirit!"

Scorpio appeared with all the sparkles and frills that came with opening one of the legendary gates of the zodiac. His parted red and white hair gleamed in the afterglow of his arrival, standing several feet over his master's adversary.

And before Natsu was his own celestial spirit. A real live scorpion from Earthland. It stood several centimeters from the ground. It's body was entirely black in color, a mirror of it's own inner darkness shining through. Natsu smirked.

"An actual scorpion..." Lucy was getting nervous now.

"Yes! A real scorpion!" Natsu beamed with pride at the defeated look on Lucy's face. This will show her. "And it glows pastel green or blue under ultraviolet light!"

Lucy gasped at him.

"Scorpion! Attack!" He bellowed with the rage he had held in for so long. This was for the shame he felt for being kicked out of his own team. I mean, how could they still be named Team Natsu without a Natsu!? That is so wrong.

The fight was on between the two scorpions. Scorpio was swinging, hitting his target over and over again. Natsu's spirit was seeing the last of it's days as it tried to get away. Natsu was definitely losing, but Lucy decided to take the battle up a notch. This was now a balance of power between the two. Which ones would come out on the bottom?

"Open! Gate of the Giant Crab!" Lucy danced with her key. "Cancer!"

But Natsu, as always, was one step behind her. He swung his Cancer key out before him as well. "Come'ere Crabby!"

Natsu's crab was suddenly on the onslaught. It skittered sideways along the ground, going toward the scorpion that skittered to get away from the battle. Natsu's two spirits began fighting each other.

"Damn you!" Lucy grumbled. It was time for her to release the big guns. This was her losing card. "Open the gate of The Goat! Capricorn!"

Natsu was quick, calling out his own goat spirit. "I call thee out, Goat!" Before Natsu, there appeared to be a small white domesticated goat still munching on the end of a cardboard box. It looked expectantly at Natsu.

Capricorn was nervous, it was obvious, even behind his dark shady sunglasses. He turned back to Lucy. She looked just as nervous at he was. But then, she closed her eyes and nodded. Capricorn read her emotions and silently did her bidding.

He quickly made friends with the other goat.

"That was all of my keys," Natsu stated with a smirk.

"I...won." Lucy couldn't believe it. "You were actually weak. Weaker than I will ever be. I know that now." Lucy looked to Natsu, her palm outstretched to help him up. "I'm sorry for being so wrong about you. You can come back to Team Natsu."

"YESSS!" Natsu whooped.

Erza and Gray stood behind Lucy, both of them smirking at the celebrating Natsu.

"I always knew he had it in him," they both said.

And so Fairy Tail welcomed back their beloved dragon slayer/celestial mage to the guild. A couple of days later, Lucy asked Natsu out, and they've been a weak couple ever since.

The End.

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**A/N: There were no drugs taken during the writing of this fic. **


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